Squire Iain MacFarlane
Lord MacFarlane is a rara avis in nobility - an individual raised from the Commons. The son of an air crewman working the platforms above the Edinburgh City of Light, he was raised mostly by his mother in the rough-and-tumble of the Muirhouse ward, a similarly rough upbringing. He and his siblings stood generally shoulder-to-shoulder and gave as well as they got in the scramble of the lower tiers and piers. Unlike his siblings, Iain was not willing to settle for life as a deckhand and the requisite dreary life in the lower wards. Over the objections of his parents, at 17 he promptly left the apprenticeship he'd been slotted into and instead enlisted with the Royal Scots Regiment, 1st of Foot of His Majesty's Army, joining a new battalion formed in Edinburgh for service in the Khyber. It was a difficult start. Military life outside of a city garrison can be a challenge, even for those accustomed to rough living…a life fighting the Ottomans and renegade Pathans doubly so. Still, Iain applied Life’s lessons learned in the alleys of Muirhouse and established himself a ready reputation in close combat both in the field and in the taverns. He became a very dangerous man, frequently sent to quietly accomplish very dangerous things in the darkness, often alone or with very small numbers of men. Such determined grit got him noticed, which he still attests that he regrets. He was promoted eventually to RSM, which in turn got him detached to work with Texan gunners and engineers. He joined them on the eastern edge of the Himalayas just in time to meet an attempt by the Chinese Empire to penetrate the mountains and establish a foothold in Assam. Surviving that fight, he first decided that there was some truth behind Texan bravado. Rapidly approaching his 30th year in the army, it was decided that both his expertise and affinity with Texans could be useful in training new mixed units back in the Dominion. While he saw no specific action during that time, his accumulated experience of service, combined with the amused interest of several high-ranking Texan gentry resulted in His Majesty issuing a letter of patent. On retirement, this granted him the effective rank of Captain, and entry into petty nobility. His ennoblement was not given merely in recognition of service. The powers that be had a purpose, and the title and rank were handed to the former RSM as tools to use in his new occupation. MacFarlane is dedicated to duty, and on his retirement and ennoblement, he has taken up responsibility as a general liaison between the Air Clans of St. Louis and His Majesty’s various military organizations and institutions. He is frequently seen in the company of his ward Druisilla at social events. He is also a frequent companion of Captain Edger Lancaster and Major Hugh Kitchner, when occasion requires his diplomacy to directly deal with various civic problems. 'Nobility' rests lightly on MacFarlane’s shoulders. He is known for bluntness in his opinions, even with peers of high rank…you can take the RSM out of the army, but you cant take the army out of the RSM. He is apt to appear unannounced in the lower tiers to drink, eat and carouse in pubs frequented by lower classes. His affinity for these places and these people is not unnoticed by military recruiters, and while unusual, he is not discouraged from indulging his tastes in this regard.